William Fraser, 14, from Benhill Road in Sutton, was bitten on Thursday night after the skull-backed spider managed to crawl into his bedroom.

He awoke on Friday with a bite mark on his forearm but his condition deteriorated and he had to be taken to hospital.

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‘The whole of his forearm had swollen from elbow to wrist,’ his mother Sarah said.

The false widow spider has a skull-like marking on its back (Picture: Alamy)

‘We gave him an anti-histamine and paracetamol. The next day he seemed to get better but on Sunday he just got worse and worse. He was feeling ill and he had to go to bed.

‘We got him up to St Helier and the doctors and nurses hadn’t even heard of false widows. When we showed them the article [in the local paper] the doctor seemed very concerned and wanted to keep him in overnight.’

He managed to get better after a strong dose of penicillin and was allowed home.

William’s predicament comes just days after a footballer showed how doctors had to cut away part of his skin after he was also bitten by a false widow.